Belize, formerly British Honduras, became a country in 1981 when it was granted independence from British rule. With a total population of around 330,000, Belize is a very small Central American country nestled under Mexico along the Caribbean Sea. Its territory is comprised of slightly more sea than land because Belize’s beautiful Barrier Reef stretches south from Cancun along the full length of Belize’s coastline. You can read more about island life in our Belize – Islands post. A stark contrast to the islands, Belize’s mainland is comprised of dense tropical forests. As Belize contains the highest proportion of protected land in the hemisphere, the interior remains largely uninhabited.
To go just about anywhere in Belize, you first have to fly into Belize City. We spent a night there on the way in and out of the country. When researching the trip, we read about Belize City being a dirty city with rampant drug-related crime. Advice from most everyone is to not be out at night and even take a taxi for a couple blocks. We pride ourselves on being open minded travelers generally unfazed by third-world cities which would be culture shock to most. Unfortunately we have to say Belize City is as rough as it is described. Even in the “touristy” part by the port where water taxis dock, it’s not a pleasurable place to be. Our advice is if your schedule allows it, pass right through Belize City onto your other destinations in Belize.
There are a number of inland adventures to where it would take you a couple weeks to see it “all”. Belize is peppered with huge mayan sites that are good half day trips. There are many adventure tours including cave tubing and exploration, zip lining, riverboat tours, cooking classes, wildlife watching, etc. We spent a week inland and were able to do handful of wonderful adventures. From our say on Caye Caulker, we did a daytrip inland where you drive an hour north from Belize City, then take an hour riverboat tour to Lamanai, an impressive mayan site. Along the riverboat tour we saw monkeys, iguanas, unique birds, even a small crocodile. We toured Lamanai with a local Mayan who knew extensive history on the site. The site was occupied starting 3,500 years ago and each of the large structures was built with a unique astrological alignment. In those days, to be an engineer meant you were also an astrologist. The Mayans predated the Greeks and Romans by 1,000 years yet championed astrology with greater accuracy. It was amazing and humbling to spend time on the grounds.
From our time on the islands, we took a hopper flight to Placencia, which is on a peninsula further south. Placencia is a small quiet town that has an artsy charm. However there is rapid development happening so who knows how long it will remain as is. We spent nearly a week here staying at the Tradewinds Hotel which are small cabanas only feet from the ocean’s edge. There are many great restaurants in town including Rumfish y Vino, Mojo Cafe, a treehouse style coffee shop called Above Grounds, and fun beach bars like the Tipsy Tuna and Barefoot Beach Bar. We spent a lot of our time exploring by foot and bike, and kayaked around the peninsula too.
The highlight of our time in Placencia, was a daylong cooking class we took through Taste Belize. It is run by a young 2nd gen. Belizean named Lyra who is an anthropologist who did her PhD dissertation on Belizean cuisine. Because of this, she is a wealth of knowledge of Belizean history, plant life, and food. We had two other travelers join us for the day; a nice Canadian lady, and a man named John Ash who we soon realized is a celebrity in the cooking world, so it was a treat to spend the day with them. We first drove an hour inland to a spice farm where we got to learn about spice production and see how a wide variety of spices grow. I found this fascinating as I had zero clue how most spices were grown or harvested. We then went to a local Mayan women’s village (open huts with no electricity), where we learned how to make corn tortillas over an open fire, and a number of other dishes. The women were very nice and it was wonderful to have a meal in their home, affording us a glimpse into their lives.
Our final stop of the day was at Ixcacao, a cacao farm and chocolate company. It is owned and run by an inspiring Mayan couple, Juan and Abelina, who started the company in their kitchen, hand making Belizean chocolate. The company has grown to a larger operation their home yet it still remains small and a process by hand. We got to learn how to harvest the cacao nibs from the pod, how the are dried, then cracked and peeled. We then learned how to grind the cacao nibs into paste, using 1,000 year old Mayan stones that had passed down through their families over generations. Half of a cacao nib’s composition is cacao butter, which melts at skin temperature. So when you start grinding the nibs, the friction quickly turns the grinds into chocolate paste. Juan gave a sort of PSA about most chocolate manufacturers and explained how many preservatives and flavorings are added, and because of this, wax has to be added so the chocolate can solidify. You’ve probably eaten chocolate and thought it tasted waxy. Tasting fresh 100% cacao chocolate is amazing and we brought back several bars to the States.
From Placencia we took a bus back to Belize City to head home. The buses are old school buses painted colorfully and pump reggae music. It was fun driving through the lush hills and stopping in smaller cities to see Belizean life. Belize is a cultural and racial blend including Caribbean, Central American, Maya, African and European people. English is the official language, Spanish is also spoken, but everyone speaks Kriol. It is refreshing to be in a place with so much diversity and see what makes each group unique. About 45 minutes outside of Belize City, we got off the bus at the Belize Zoo. There are so many unique animals we’ve never heard of, and the layout feels very “open” where you can get closer to the animals than would be allowed in the US for sure.
Belize overall is a very “easy” Central American destination that offers many wonderful adventures. For us coming from the rainy Pacific Northwest, it was a perfect January getaway from our winter, to 80 degree tropical weather. While being an overall poor country, tourism prices are higher than you might expect, especially if you compare it to a similar place like Southeast Asia. However as we found from exploring, you can find budget friendly accommodations and food if you look for it.